Hip-hop hooligan Ja Rule comes to town

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If only Jakarta had a public obscenity law, hip-hop hooligan Ja Rule would have been busted for sure during his Thursday night concert in the Manhattan nightclub at Borobudur Hotel, Central Jakarta.

The foul-mouthed rapper peppered his one-hour performance with every swearword under the sun -- a regular feature of hip-hop subculture -- to the delight of the adoring fans who thronged the medium-sized venue.

"Jakarta what the f**k is happening tonight?" the rapper greeted the ecstatic concertgoers after two gig-openers.

That's not all, midway through the gig, the Queens native, Jeffrey Atkins, took off his oversized white shirt, baring his sweaty torso, and kept it off until the show's end, successfully upping the gig's raucous mood.

And if toting a bottle of liquor -- and knocking back the lot by the show's conclusion -- was a crowd-pleaser, then Ja was more than happy to oblige. After all, a hip-hop performance, Ja's in particular, is more about attitude than music.

And as if all the braggadocios were not enough, Ja had at least three bodyguards -- two of them were well-built -- who stood idly by on stage cautiously watching and at times gesturing in defense of the rapper.

Ja apparently forgot that he was thousands miles away from the East Coast-West Coast rap war, and no one in the crowd was likely to harm him, let alone shoot him. But if that was what it took to make a good show, then, why not.

Staged against a minimalist set, a platform on which rows of turntables were placed, the show had little to offer but a booming bass and Ja's semi-shouted and smooth rhymes to party with. And the concertgoers were content with just that.

The highlight of the show was when Ja rhymed a tribute to the deceased West Coast rap legend, Tupac Shakur, in which he also name-checked Notorious B.I.G. and Wu Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard.

Another memorable moment was when Ja performed Always On Time, a syrupy song he originally performed with singer Ashanti. The song was taken from his Blood In My Eye album.

The album, which spawned a couple of hits, also marked the gravel-throated rapper's decline.

Deposed from his hip-hop reign by the thuggish 50 cent, he was reportedly booed offstage at the Source Award. Rolling Stone magazine even shunned reviewing his new album J.A.R.U.LE.

That was probably the reason why Ja agreed to stage a concert here, by invitation of promoter Java Musikindo.